(Editorial) Physicians are not solely responsible for ensuring access to medical assistance in dying

Diane Kelsall

Canadian Medical Association Journal, CMAJ
Canadian Medical Association Journal

Extract
Patients’ rights to access to medical assistance in dying (MAiD) trumps the religious rights of physicians under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms  –  or so says the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. But ensuring equitable access to health care is a societal responsibility and does not rest solely on the individual physician. Surely there is a way forward that ensures access for patients requesting MAiD without trampling on physician rights enshrined in law.


Kelsall D.  Physicians are not solely responsible for ensuring access to medical assistance in dying. CMAJ February 20, 2018 190 (7) E181; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.180153

Hippocrates’ Oath and Asclepius’ Snake:The Birth of the Medical Profession

Thomas A Cavanaugh

Hippocrates' Oath and Asclepius' Snake: The Birth of the Medical Profession

Thomas A. Cavanagh. Hippocrates’ Oath and Asclepius’ Snake:The Birth of the Medical Profession. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018. 177 pp.

Publisher’s Description
T. A. Cavanaugh’s Hippocrates’ Oath and Asclepius’ Snake: The Birth of the Medical Profession articulates the Oath as establishing the medical profession’s unique internal medical ethic – in its most basic and least controvertible form, this ethic mandates that physicians help and not harm the sick. Relying on Greek myth, drama, and medical experience (e.g., homeopathy), the book shows how this medical ethic arose from reflection on the most vexing medical-ethical problem – injury caused by a physician – and argues that deliberate iatrogenic harm, especially the harm of a doctor choosing to kill (physician assisted suicide, euthanasia, abortion, and involvement in capital punishment), amounts to an abandonment of medicine as an exclusively therapeutic profession. The book argues that medicine as a profession necessarily involves stating before others what one stands for: the good one seeks and the bad one seeks to avoid on behalf of the sick, and rejects the view that medicine is purely a technique lacking its own unique internal ethic. It concludes noting that medical promising (as found in the White Coat Ceremony through which U. S. medical students matriculate) implicates medical autonomy which in turn merits respect, including honoring professional conscientious objections.


Nurses’ perspectives on whether medical aid in dying should be accessible to incompetent patients with dementia: findings from a survey conducted in Quebec, Canada

G. Bravo, C. Rodrigue, M. Arcand, J. Downie, M.-F. Dubois, S. Kaasalaine, C.M. Hertogh,S. Pautex, L. Van den Block

Geriatric Nursing
Geriatric Nursing

Abstract
We conducted a survey in a random sample of 514 Quebec nurses caring for the elderly to assess their attitudes towards extending medical aid in dying to incompetent patients and to explore associated factors. Attitudes were measured using clinical vignettes featuring a hypothetical patient with Alzheimer disease. Vignettes varied according to the stage of the disease (advanced or terminal) and the presence or absence of a written request. Of the 291 respondents, 83.5% agreed with the current legislation that allows physicians to administer aid in dying to competent patients who are at the end of life and suffer unbearably. A similar proportion (83%, p = 0.871) were in favor of extending medical aid in dying to incompetent patients who are at the terminal stage of Alzheimer disease, show signs of distress, and have made a written request before losing capacity.


Bravo G, Rodrigue C, Arcand M, Downie J, Dubois M-F, Kaasalaine S, Hertogh CM,  Pautex S, L. Van den Block L. Nurses’ perspectives on whether medical aid in dying should be accessible to incompetent patients with dementia: findings from a survey conducted in Quebec, Canada. Geriatr Nurs. 2018 Jan 3. pii: S0197-4572(17)30319-1. doi: 10.1016/j.gerinurse.2017.12.002.

Involvement of palliative care in euthanasia practice in a context of legalized euthanasia: A population-based mortality follow-back study

Sigrid Dierickx, Luc Deliens, Joachim Cohen, Kenneth Chambaere

Palliative Medicine
Palliative Medicine

Abstract
Background
: In the international debate about assisted dying, it is commonly stated that euthanasia is incompatible with palliative care. In Belgium, where euthanasia was legalized in 2002, the Federation for Palliative Care Flanders has endorsed the viewpoint that euthanasia can be embedded in palliative care.

Aim: To examine the involvement of palliative care services in euthanasia practice in a context of legalized euthanasia.

Design: Population-based mortality follow-back survey.

Setting/participants: Physicians attending a random sample of 6871 deaths in Flanders, Belgium, in 2013.

Results: People requesting euthanasia were more likely to have received palliative care (70.9%) than other people dying non-suddenly (45.2%) (odds ratio = 2.1 (95% confidence interval, 1.5–2.9)). The most frequently indicated reasons for non-referral to a palliative care service in those requesting euthanasia were that existing care already sufficiently addressed the patient’s palliative and supportive care needs (56.5%) and that the patient did not want to be referred (26.1%). The likelihood of a request being granted did not differ between cases with or without palliative care involvement. Palliative care professionals were involved in the decision-making process and/or performance of euthanasia in 59.8% of all euthanasia deaths; this involvement was higher in hospitals (76.0%) than at home (47.0%) or in nursing homes (49.5%).

Conclusion: In Flanders, in a context of legalized euthanasia, euthanasia and palliative care do not seem to be contradictory practices. A substantial proportion of people who make a euthanasia request are seen by palliative care services, and for a majority of these, the request is granted.


Dierickx S, Deliens L, Cohen J, Chambaere K. Involvement of palliative care in euthanasia practice in a context of legalized euthanasia: A population-based mortality follow-back study. Palliat Med. 2018 Jan;32(1):114-122. doi: 10.1177/0269216317727158. Epub 2017 Aug 29.

Community pharmacists’ attitudes on suicide: A preliminary analysis with implications for medical assistance in dying

Andrea L. Murphy, Claire O’Reilly, Ruth Martin-Misener, Randa Ataya, David Gardner

Canadian Pharmacists Journal
Canadian Pharmacists Journal

Extract
Conclusion

Pharmacists are likely underestimating their frequency of interactions with people with thoughts of dying or with intentions to die either by suicide or through medical assistance in dying procedures. Pharmacists report empathetic responses for those with severe and incurable diseases wishing to end their life, but most do not support death by suicide or through medical assistance. From the preliminary analysis, a personal connection to mental illness or suicide does not appear to influence the permissiveness of pharmacists’ attitudes towards suicide. Framing effects in survey research for pharmacists have not been adequately considered, and more work is needed to determine how this influences the responses of pharmacists.


Murphy AL, O’Reilly C, Martin-Misener R, Ataya R,Gardner D. Community pharmacists’ attitudes on suicide: A preliminary analysis with implications for medical assistance in dying. Can Pharm J (Ott). 2017 Dec 1;151(1):17-23. doi: 10.1177/1715163517744225.

This moral coil: A cross-sectional survey of Canadian medical student attitudes toward medical assistance in dying

Eli Xavier Bator, Bethany Philpott, Andrew Paul Costa

BMC Medical Ethics
BMC Medical Ethics

Abstract
Background: In February, 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the ban on medical assistance in dying (MAiD). In June, 2016, the federal government passed Bill C-14, permitting MAiD. Current medical students will be the first physician cohort to enter a system permissive of MAiD, and may help to ensure equitable access to care. This study assessed medical student views on MAiD, factors influencing these views, and opportunities for medical education.
Methods: An exploratory cross-sectional survey was developed and distributed to medical students across all years of a three-year Canadian undergraduate medical program. The investigators administered the survey to participants during academic sessions from November to December, 2015. Analysis of the results included summary descriptive statistics, Pearson’s chi-square test of independence to identify differences between participants by year of study, logistic regression to identify factors that influence students’ stances on MAiD, and Wilcoxon signed rank test to measure changes in student support for MAiD and comfort discussing MAiD.
Results: There were 405 participants for a response rate of 87%. The majority of students (88%) supported the Supreme Court’s decision, 61% would provide the means for a patient to end their life, and 38% would personally administer a lethal medication. Students who were more willing to provide the means for MAiD found medical education/clinical experience and patient autonomy to be important contributors to their stances on MAiD. Those students who were less willing to provide the means for MAiD found religious/spiritual beliefs and teachings, as well as concern about potential negative consequences, to be important contributors to their stances on MAiD. Educational training desired by participants included medicolegal (91%), communication skills (80%), technical skills (75%), and religious (49%).
Conclusions: Medical students generally supported and would provide the means for MAiD to patients. They also indicated a desire for directed medical education on MAiD.


Bator EX, Philpott B, Costa AP. This moral coil: A cross-sectional survey of Canadian medical student attitudes toward medical assistance in dying. BMC Medical Ethics. 2017;18(1).

Navigating the new era of assisted suicide and execution drugs

Sean Riley

Journal of Law and the Biosciences
Journal of Law and the Biosciences

Extract
I. Introduction

Lethal medication provisions are in a precarious state. Over the past decade, pharmaceutical companies have attempted to stamp out the use of their drugs in executions, creating several economic and regulatory hurdles for access to these medications. As a result, patients seeking physician-assisted suicide (PAS) as well as death penalty states aiming to execute their capital offenders have been forced to turn to unregulated and dangerous alternatives for these drugs. This note attempts to unpack the quality, safety, and access issues emerging from these recent changes and to explore the implications for the future of these practices.

In order to fully grasp the exact mechanisms at work, this note will first offer a brief pharmacological description of the lethal medications and detail many technical aspects of their use. The next section provides a historical account of the past decade, illustrating the emergent quality, safety, and access issues. This note then evaluates the competing notions of ‘botched’ executions and ‘complications’ in PAS while analysing the standards set forward to measure safety and efficacy for each. Finally, this note closes by exploring the future of each practice in light of our discussion.


Riley S. Navigating the new era of assisted suicide and execution drugs. Journal of Law and the Biosciences. Volume 4, Issue 2, 1 August 2017, Pages 424–434, https://doi.org/10.1093/jlb/lsx028

Moral Disengagement-Mechanisms Propelling the Euthanasia/PAS Movement

Fabian Stahle

Journal of Ethics in Mental Health
Journal of Ethics in Mental Health

Abstract
The international movement that promotes the legalisation of euthanasia/physician-assisted suicide (PAS) is propelled by highly potent psychological mechanisms to overcome the resistance to its agenda. It is all about cognitive restructuring to justify inhumane actions. These are always in use when normal, well-socialised persons are coerced into accepting and participating in the killing of fellow human beings. Various scientific studies, pioneered by Albert Bandura, have shown that participators are able to endure their deeds by activating these powerful mechanisms of moral disengagement. However, those who make use of such mechanisms pay a high price. These mechanisms have a personality-changing power that dehumanizes the perpetrators. For the society that has allowed itself to be manipulated by such mechanisms for the purpose of systematizing “death on demand”, there are also serious consequences. These consequences can be described in terms of dehumanization and brutalization of that society as a whole.


Stahle F. Moral Disengagement-Mechanisms Propelling the Euthanasia/PAS Movement. J Ethics Ment Health. 2017;10 (1-15)

Medical Assistance in Dying — Implementing a Hospital-Based Program in Canada

Madeline Li, Sarah Watt, Marnie Escaf, Michael Gardam, Ann Heesters, Gerald O’Leary, and Gary Rodin

New England Journal of Medicine, NEJM
New England Journal of Medicine

Extract
After Canada legalized medical assistance in dying (MAiD), the University Health Network in Toronto implemented a hospital-based MAiD program. UHN offers a framework for assessing patients for and providing MAiD while respecting the rights of patients and staff.


Li M, Watt S, Escaf M, Gardam M, Heesters A, O’Leary G, M.B., Rodin G. Medical Assistance in Dying — Implementing a Hospital-Based Program in Canada. N Engl J Med 2017; 376:2082-2088 May 25, 2017 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMms1700606

Aid-in-dying laws and the physician’s duty to inform

Mara Buchbinder

Journal of Medical Ethics
Journal of Medical Ethics

Abstract
On 19 July 2016, three medical organisations filed a federal lawsuit against representatives from several Vermont agencies over the Patient Choice and Control at End of Life Act. The law is similar to aid-in-dying (AID) laws in four other US states, but the lawsuit hinges on a distinctive aspect of Vermont’s law pertaining to patients’ rights to information. The lawsuit raises questions about whether, and under what circumstances, there is an ethical obligation to inform terminally ill patients about AID as an end-of-life option. Much of the literature on clinical communication about AID addresses how physicians should respond to patient requests for assisted dying, but neglects the question of how physicians should approach patients who may not know enough about AID to request it. In this article, I examine the possibility of an affirmative duty to inform terminally ill patients about AID in light of ethical concerns about professional responsibilities to patients and the maintenance of the patient–provider relationship. I suggest that we should not take for granted that communication about AID ought to be patient-initiated, and that there may be circumstances in which physicians have good reasons to introduce the topic themselves. By identifying ethical considerations that ought to inform such discussions, I aim to set an agenda for future bioethical research that adopts a broader perspective on clinical communication about AID.


Buchbinder M. Aid-in-dying laws and the physician’s duty to inform. J Med Ethics. 2016;43(10):1-4.